Engine-starter.



G. J. SPOHRBR.

ENGINE STARTER.

.APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1911. 1,072,261 Y Patented SEpt. 2, 1913.

2 BHEBTBSHEET l.

G. J. SPOHRER.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNI:l zo, 1911.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

2 sHEETssHnET 2.

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TINTT STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GREGORY JOHN SPOHRER, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WILSON MOTOR STARTER COMPANY, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 2, 1 913.

Application led June 29, 1911. Serial No. 635,930.

To all whom it may concern.' y

Be it known that I, GREGORY J. Sroi-Innn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Franklin, in the county oit' Venango and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Engine-Starter, of which the following is Va full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a new and improvediorurof engine starter more espef cially adapted for use on road vehicles, particularly to that class of vehicles driven by internal combustion engines where it is necessary to start the sparking mechanism by turning ovel the engineshaft, forming an improvement on the construction outlined in my Patent No. 998,418, July 18, 1911.

An object ofmy invention is to provide a device by means of which the engine shaft may be turned over by an automatic compressed-fluid-actuated device controlled from adjacent the operators seat, Without vthe necessity of manually cranking as is now common with devices of this character.

I attain the above-outlined object by making use of compressed air to actuate a piston movable in a compressed air cylinder, the stein of which piston is adapted to engage the main shaft of the engine to rotate the same through one revolution, and, fur ther, I provide means whereby the piston is automatically returned to its initial position at the end of the stroke.

With the above and other objects in View, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the present invention consists in certain novel details of construction and arrangement ot parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying,r drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawings, forming a part ot' this speciiication, in which similar characters ot rei"- erence indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile in outline, showinga preferred cmbodiment of my invention in position thereon; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 2v2 of Fie. 4; and through the axis oi the main driving shaft; Fig. fl is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Sim?) ot hier. L), showing' certain parts in detached position; and F ig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-1 of Fig. 2.

In the several figures I have shown a compressed air tank A leading from which is a pipe connection I3, by means of which compressed nir is conveyed to a valve control C disposed in the floor of an automobile D and convenient to the operator. From the valve control C, fluid is conveyed through pipes E and F to a cylinder G, which cylinder has a casing H extending from the forward part thereof and surrounding the main driving shaft J of the engine. connecting parts constitute the subject matter ot' my invention. The valve control C comprises a casting extending vertically through and to one side of the center of which is a .vertically-extending bore 5, the upper portion of which is enlarged at (l to form a valve seat 7 which enlarged portion 6 is closed by means of a screw-threaded cap 8, said cap being recessed at 9. Slidably mounted in the bore 5 is a valve stem 10, the head 11 of which is forced into engagement with the valve seat 7 by means of a compressed spring 12, which spring` has its lower end resting on the head l1 and its other end positioned within the recessed portion 9. Extending at right an- 1e'les to the enlarged portion 6, is an inlet 13 in fluid connection with the pipe conneci tion B from the compressed air tank A. Extending from the bore 5 below the head 8, `is a downwardly-inclined outlet 14 in fluidy connection with a pipe E extending to the cylinder G. On the opposite side of the center of the valve control C is a valve construction 15 identical with the valve construction hereinbefore.described in detail, a pipe connection F extending` from an inlet '13 to another' portion of the cylinder G,

and an outlet 14 open to the atmosphere.

h'lounted centrally in the valve control C is a plunger 16, the lower end of which is pivoted at 17 to the long arm 18 of a lever 19 fulcrnmed at 20 to a lug 21 depending from the under side of the valve control C. 'lhe ends ofthe lever 19 are positioned in vertical alinement below each of the bores 5, and resting upon the ends of the lever and extending into the lower open end of each bore 5 is a plug; 22, so positioned below the valve stein 10 that with the lever in the position shown in Fig. 3 with the short end 23 in depressed position, the plug 22 will be out of engagement with the stein 10,.per

mitting the spring 12 to force the valve to its seat, so as to close communication be tween the inlet 13 and the outlet 14. As shown to the left of the valve control in Fig. 3, the plug 22 may be forced by the arm 18 to lift the valve off its seat against the action of the spring,thereby permitting' fluid communication through the inlet 13 and outlet 14. The valve control C has a centrally disposed recess 24, and in said recess and surrounding the plunger 16 is a compression yspring 25, the lo-wer end of which bears on the bottom of the recess 24, and the upper. end of which bears against a collar 26 surro-unding the plunger 16 and held in position adjacent the top of the recess 24 by means of a pin 27. By this construction it is seen that the valve co-ntrol normally maintains the valves in the position in Fig. 1, to a boss 28 extending upwardly from the casing H. This boss is recessed vertically, in which recess is disposed a plunger 29, the upper end of which has a valve head 30 adapted to rest upon a valve seat 31 formed byan enlargement 32 at the upper end of the recess. The enlarged portion is closed at the top by means of a cap 33, to which cap is fastened the pipe E. Below the valve seat 31 is an outlet 34, by means` of which Huid is conveyed-through a pipe 35, which pipe is bifurcated at 36, one arm 37 of which bifureated part leads to an inlet port 38 in one end of the cylinder Gr and the other arm 39 of which connects to and forms part of the pipe F. .As shown, with the valve in the position indicated in Fig. 3, compressed air may be admitted through the pipe E, outlet 34, and inlet port 38, to

act on the piston head 40 to drive the same in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. The piste-n stem 41 has a rack 42 depending from'the underside thereof, the teeth of which rack engage the gear wheel 43 mounted on a brass sleeve 44 loosely mounted on the driving shaft J. Disposed o-n the uppersurface of the piston stem 41, is a bearing plate 45 extending from the front end 46 about two-thirds of the distance toward the piston head 40, the end adjacent the piston head being beveled at 47.

' The lower end 48 of the plunger 29 is adapted to bear on the plate 45 to hold the valve head 30 off its seatI 31. It will be seen by this construction, that as the pistonstem is advanced in rotating the gear wheel 43, the plate will hold' the valve head 30 off its seat until vthe enlarged end 48, in effect, slides.

. down the incline 47, thereby permitting the spring 49.to force the valve head 30 on to its seat 31, thereby closing the passage of the compressed fluid thro-ugh the outlet 34 and shutting off the compressed iuid from the left-hand side off the piston head 40.

Pivoted 4to one side of and adjacent to the front end 46 of the piston stem 41, is a tumbler 50 inthe form of a bell crank lt.- ver, one arm 51 of which has an upwardly and rearwardly extended beveled edge 52, up which edge o-r incline is adapted to slide,

during the outward travel of the piston stem 4l, the end 53 of a lever 54 fulcrumed at `to a broad flat arm 56, through the tubular portion 57A of which extends a shaft 58, the ends of which are mounted in the casing H to form a pivot for the arm 56, which arm is bifurcated to form a wide spreading yoke 59, the arms 60 of which eX- tend in the plane of the arm 56 and ina plane at right angles to the axis of the driving shaft J. Extending inwardly from the end of the arms 60 are alined roller bearings 61 adapted to roll in a peripherally-disposed recess 62 in the clutch member 63, feathered on the shaft J by means of a key 64. The side of the clutch member 63 adjacent the gear wheel 43 has clutch teeth 65 adapted to engage the teeth 66 on the side of the gear wheel 43, thereby connecting said gear wheel 43 with the driving shaft J. It

lwill be noted that as the piston stem is 4driven forward, the tumbler 50 raises the end 53 of the lever 54, compressing the ioo spring 67 disposed between the end of the lever opposite the end 53 and the tubular portion 57 to throw the clutch member 63 into engagement with the gear wheel 43, so that the motion of the gear wheel will be transmitted thro-ugh the clutch membe'r 63 and key 64 to the drive shaft J.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 2, .the

piston stem 41 is wider than the gear wheel 43, a portion 68 of the rack 42 extending beyond the s ide of the gear wheel 43 opposite the side upon which the clutch member is mounted. This extended portion is permanently in engagement with the teeth of the gear wheel.69 having a hub 70'loosely mounted on the driving shaft J and prejecting from the gear wheel in a direction opposite to the gear wheel 43. Since the teeth 68 of the rack at the end 46 are short and engage only with the gear 69, there-is formed adjacent thereto a blank space 42 on the stem 41, to permit the disengagement of the stem from the gear 43. Surrounding the extended hub 70 is a flat spiral spring 71, the inner end of which is fastened to the gear wheel 69 at 72, and the outer end of which is fastened to the side of the casing H at 73. 1t will be seen that by this con nection, as the piston stem 41 moves yfornoveno? wheel 69, and as t-his gear wheel revolves, i 63, throw the clutch member out of engage the spring 71 is coiled, placing the same .under tension, and by the time the piston rod has reached the limit of its forward movement in rotating the shaft J, the engine will have taken up the rotation of the shaft, which rotation of the shaft will throw the clutch member 63 out of engagement "with the gear wheel 43, thereby permitting the gear wheel 43 to ride idle on the shaft J. The coiled spring 71 will assert itself to reverse the direction of movement of the gear wheel 69, thereby feeding the rod lthe valve head 11 o 41 back to its initial position shown in Fig. 3. The head 40 isfcushioned in its return by a hollow sleeve 74 extending rearwardly from said head, which sleeve 74 is held in its extended position by means of a compressed spring 75 disposed in a recess 7 6 centrally disposed in the head 40 and stem 41 and bearing on said stem and sleeve. The tumbler is pivoted at 77 and is held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by means of a spring 78, and the tumbler is revented from rotating under the action ofp the spring by means of a stop pin 79. By means of this construction of the tumbler and due to the fact that the lever 54 ispivoted, the tumbler will swing on its pivotal point 77 and will permit the end 5.3 of the lever 54 to pass said tumbler 50, thereby placing the same in position to throw the clutch member into engagement with the gear wheel 43 when the device is again actuated.

To start the enginez the operator depresses the plunger 16, swin ing the lever 19 to force its seat 7, thereby permitt-ing compressed air to pass from the tank, A through the pipe B, inlet 13, outlet 14 of the valve control (j, through the pipe E, outlet 34, pipe 35 and inlet port 38A of the cylinder G, to act on the head 40, forcing the stem 41 in the direction indicated by the arrow. At the same time that the valve head 11 is raised off its seat 7, the valve .15 closes the outlet 14. As the piston stem moves forward, the tumbler 50 will cause the yoke 59 to swing the clutch member 63 mounted onthe main drivel shaft J into engagement with the gear wheel 43, which gear wheel is then bein rotated by means of the rack de pending rom a piston rod 41. At the same time, the rack 42 will cause the s ring 71 to tighten. As the stem advances, t e plunger 48 will move down the incline 47, thereby shutting oft' the passage of the compressed fluid to the cylinder G and permitting the compressed air in the rear of the head 40 to force the head substantially to the' forward end of the cvlinder G. This movement will rotate the shaft J, and such movement of the shaft will start the engine as is common with the crankin method now in use. The shaft J rotating y means of its engine will dlsconnect the teeth 65 of the clutch member .havin ment with the gear wheel 43, and as the compression in the cylinder G is reduced by the opening of the exhaust port the spring 71 is free to rotate the gear wheel 69 backward, forcing the stem 41 back to its initial position as shown in Fig. 3. Removing the foot pressure from the rod 16 will permit the spring 25 to act, thereby restoring the valves to the position shown in Fig. 3 and permitting the exhaustion of the expanded fluid from the rear of the head 40 through the arm 37 and pipe 35, through the pipe F, inlet 13 and outlet 14 to the outside at-mosphere.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an engine starter, a casing, an engine shaft passing through said easing, a clutch member feathered to said shaft, a yoke pivotally supported above said clutch member and engaging the same to slide said clutch member longitudinally along said shaft, said clutch member. having teeth on one side thereof, a gear wheel loosely mounted on said shaft having teeth on the side thereof adapted to engage the teeth of the clutch member, a second gear wheel loosely mount ed on said shaft on the side of said firstmentioned gear wheel opposite the clutch member, a piston stem having a rack on the under side thereof, means actuating said piston stem, said rack engaging both of said gear wheels, a tumbler carried by said piston stem, said tumbler adapted to engage said yoke during the initial movement of said stem to throw the teeth of the clutch member and gear wheel into engagement, so that the further movement of said stem will rotate said shaft, and spring means attachedf to said second-mentioned gear, placed under tension by the movement of said stem while rotating the shaft, said spring means acting on said second-mentioned gear to return said stem to its initial position.

2. In an engine starter, a main engine shaft, a casing mounted on said shaft, a clutch member keyed to said shaft, a geary wheel loosely mountedV on said shaft and adapted to engage said clutch member, a piston cylinder, a piston stem projectin from said cylinder, said stem having a rac thereon adapted to engage said gear wheel, means for admitting compressed fluid to said cylinder, to drive said piston stem in `a direction to rotate said gear wheel and clutch member, a second gear wheel loosely mounted on said shaft adjacent the firstmentioned gear wheel, and a coil spring one end connected to said last-mentione `gear wheel and the other end attached to said casing, to react on said last-V mentioned gear wheel and piston stem to return the latter to its initial position.

3. In an engine starter, an engine shaft,

a clutch member keyed to said shaft, a gear.y

Wheel loosely mounted on said shaftv and adapted t-o engage said clutch member, a piston stem having a rack thereon engaging said gear wheel to rotate the same, a pivoted yoke loosely engaging said clutch member to move the saine on said shaft into engagement with said gear Wheel, and a tumbler carried by said stem to actuate said yoke to engage Said clutch member. and 'gear Wheel.

4l. In an engine starter, a shaft, a pair of gear Wheels loosely mounted on said shaft, compressed fluid controlled means engaging said gear Wheels to rotate the same, means whereby one of said gear Wheels is connected to said shaft to rotate the same, and means connected tothe other of said gear Wheels to return said fluid controlled'means to its initial position after it has rotated the gear Wheels and shaft.

5. In an engine starter, in combination, an engine shaft, a gear Wheel mounted upon and adapted to rotate said shaft, a second gear Wheel having a hub loosely mounted upon said shaft, a coil spring mounted upon said hub and adapted to actuate said secondmentioned gear Wheel, a reciprocating rack permanently/ engaging said second-mentioned gear Wheel and engaging said firstmentioned gear Wheel for a portion of its stroke, said rack having a blank space thereon to permit said first-mentioned gear Wheel to ride idly on the engine shaft.

6. In an engine starter, an engine shaft, a sliding clutch member feathered to said shaft, a pivoted yoke loosely engaging said clutch member,an arm integral With said yoke, a lever fulcrumed intermediate its length to said arm, a compression spring between one arm of said'lever and said yoke,

and actuating means adapted to rotate ysaid shaft through said clutch member, said means having a tumbler thereon adapted to engage the arm of said lever opposite the spring-pressed arm, whereby said tumbler Will actuate said lever and yoke through saidy spring, to act-nate said clutch member to engage the actuating means.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

GREGORY JOHN SPUHRER; Witnesses:

Wis/r. A. MALLORY, Il. Gr. READING. 

